In my wee world of lifestyle and trade journalism, I’ve been noticing growth in a disturbing trend: sources asking to review the stories I’m interviewing them for prior to print. Now, the odd person used to ask this, but it’s become weekly ritual for me to explain why I can’t do it to the people I’m interviewing. I can’t do it, people, because that’s not the way it’s done. There are a hundred different reasons why having a source review a story or quotes is a horrible idea, not the least of which being it’s unethical to the other people who have been interviewed and an insult to the non-partisan nature of journalism.
But where is this coming from? Is it just me? Or is has the whole world become as paranoid as a tobacco company public relations department? Is it the rise of perceived media savviness? Or has “blow job journalism” become so prevalent that people have gotten used to the privilege of reviewing the stories they are interviewed for? In any case, it’s driving me nuts. If you are not comfortable with a story being written without your review, then it’s probably best not to be a part of the story.
PHOTO: laffy4K, Flickr Creative Commons.
